


Rituals

by sinecure



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-03
Updated: 2010-09-03
Packaged: 2017-10-11 10:25:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinecure/pseuds/sinecure
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some planets have rituals that humans and Time Lords probably shouldn't be involved in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rituals

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** Rituals  
> **Character/Pairing:** Ten/Rose  
> **Rating:** Teen  
> **Genre:** AU, drama, romance  
> **Summary:** Some planets have rituals that humans and Time Lords probably shouldn't be involved in.  
> **Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who.  
> **Thanks:** to momdaegmorgan for the beta.  
> **Note:** This is another fic written for the Support Stacie auction. It's for lilyfiore.

A single beam of pale yellow moonlight shone on the Doctor's body, hugging to his skin and shifting slightly when Rose pulled him closer. Smoothing one hand across his forehead and down his cheek while the other rested on his chest, she felt the comforting beat of his two hearts. Glancing up at the window in the wall again as the last of the rays of the moon slipped out of view, she sighed.

"Wake up, Doctor. Can't exactly make a brilliant escape dragging you behind me, now can I?" Shifting her weight on the bright, white tile, she leant against the wall.

An irritated groan left his parted lips and his eyes snapped open, focusing directly on hers. "You'll not be dragging me anywhere. I'm a Time Lord, not a folded up rug."

Relief poured through her, though she didn't like how pale he was still. A breathless chuckle left her, exhaled on a sigh of relief. "Well, then get up and act like one instead of some laze-about." Her words were teasing, her touch light as she slid her hand from him, hoping he hadn't noticed just how intimately she'd been touching his body.

Eyes still on her, he raised a hand, pressing it to his forehead with a weary sigh. "Where are we then? Last I remember we'd left the TARDIS and joined a large group of people heading--well, ambling really, there was a lot of ambling--toward a ceremony. The ceremony of-- of..." he reached up to scratch his jaw. "Don't think I ever caught the name actually."

She hovered near him as he braced his arms behind him and shoved into a sitting position. She half expected him to drop back to the floor again; he'd been out for so long. Hours. She'd watched the moon rise and then slowly make its way toward the small rectangular window in the door while he was out.

Hadn't been sure if--or when--he'd finally wake up.

Fear had taken up root in her long ago, and it wasn't in a rush to leave her now. They'd done something to him. To them.

"The ceremony of Tahl," she told him, standing and offering him her hand.

He shook his head, eyes darting around the room. A frown appeared momentarily as he climbed to his feet and looked down at himself. "Where are my clothes? Coat? Jacket?" He glanced at her, brows rising slightly when he saw her state of undress. "Your coat as well. And-- and, Rose, you're not wearing a shirt." His brows rose higher. "Or, well, not much of anything really."

Well, that was a good sign. He must be feeling better if he was back to stating the obvious. They'd taken her clothes. All but her bra and knickers. At least they'd left her those. Rolling her eyes, she crossed her legs and hunkered down in the far corner of the small cell. "Brilliant deduction, Watson--"

"Oi, I'm Sherlock, you're Watson--"

"--they took them as part of the ceremony." Crossing her arms over her chest in discomfort, she shrugged, focusing on the window behind him, wondering if there was any way to open it. "'Clothing between two to become one is quite unnecessary'. Apparently." Sighing, she settled further into the corner, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "They didn't tell me anything about the ceremony though, 'cause we're already supposed to know--"

"Rose, you've got to get out of here," the Doctor interrupted suddenly, voice stiff and low. Unnerving.

Glancing up at him, she gestured to the wall, trying to ignore his wide eyes and the strained look to his mouth, the way he pressed his back against the opposite wall as if afraid to be too close to her. "There's no door. Not anymore. It sealed up after the priests brought us here. Well, brought me here. You they carried."

Did her body make him that uncomfortable? Dipping her head down, she kept her eyes on the floor rather than allowing them to settle on his bare chest. At least he'd got to keep his trousers and wasn't sitting around in just his pants.

Rushing forward suddenly, he knelt down in front of her, grabbing her by her upper arms. "The ceremony of Tahl is-- we need to get out of here. Did they inject you? Did they inject me?" He dropped her arms to search his own. "'Course they did. That's why I was out, my body was trying to metabolize the poison--"

Head shooting up, she felt panic surge through her. "Poison? But you're fine." She grabbed his right arm, running her finger over the tiny needle mark there. "They--"

"Well, I say poison, but it's not damaging to me physically." Eyeing the mark, he sighed and rocked back on his heels. "I simply need to let it run its course. But with you here, that can't happen. Not... easily."

Dropping her hands to her ankles, she frowned as he slumped back against the wall opposite hers in their 8x8 cell. "What is it? What's it do?"

Closing his eyes, he rubbed his forehead. "It's a ceremony that all Rintahl people go through when they wish to marry. Or want to reconnect with a loved one. It's..." eyes opening and rising to hers, he shoved his hands roughly through his hair. "It's an exchange of memories and feelings. A trust thing. Sharing."

Sharing memories and thoughts? That didn't sound so bad. Eyeing him, she bit her lip, noting that he was still rather pale in the moonlight, bare chest barely rising and falling as he settled his arms on his upturned knees and rested his head in his hands.

They were going to share memories then?

Well. Maybe she could learn more about the Doctor then. Get more insight into him. Even after loving and losing him, then nearly losing him again after Davros, she didn't know-- his feelings, they were the biggest mystery of all. "That a bad thing?"

Eyes lifting to hers, he sighed and stretched his neck. "Normally, I'd say no. Not for Rintahls or humans. You have so little psychic power that it shouldn't be a problem. But I'm telepathic." She got the feeling she was supposed to understand why that was a bad thing.

Shrugging a shoulder, she shook her head a little. "Yeah...?"

Running his hands through his hair again, he pushed to his feet, striding away from her, then back again. "I've got more power than a human. More than a Rintahl. I-- I've seen things, Rose. Done things." His eyes shot in her direction before dropping to the floor. "Things that I don't want anyone to have to see or feel or know. It could drive you mental. Literally drive you mental."

"And the drug does what?"

Spinning around, he slammed his hands against the wall. "Hey! There's been a mistake here. A huge, huge mistake!" Slamming his palms against the wall again, he shook his head, then turned and slumped against it. "The drug heightens the telepathic mind. Think of it, Rose. Over 900 years of memories... I can't let you go through that. I won't let you go through that."

Apparently it was that bad. She had to admit she didn't fancy being bombarded by the Doctor's thoughts and memories. His life, since she'd met him, had been hectic and harried and awful. And wonderful. The deaths she'd witnessed though, the things she'd been a part of, those were things she didn't want to experience firsthand. She didn't want to fully know his suffering, his pain.

And yet, she did.

"But there's no way out. They told me we were gonna be here for a day." Fidgeting a bit, scratching her calf, she looked up at him. His wide eyes darted this way and that, hands smoothing over the walls as he searched for a way out. "However long that is on this planet."

"Two and a quarter Earth days," he mumbled, fingers pressing against the spot the door had been in. "Here?"

"Yeah." Standing up, she joined him, hoping he might be able to find a trigger of some sort. "This isn't exactly safe, is it? Locking two people in a room with no way out. What if something happens?"

"We're being monitored."

A chill went down her spine. Wrapping her arms around her midsection, she backed away again. "That's just creepy."

He glanced back at her, tilting his head a bit in agreement. "No video or audio, just vitals." Fingers trailing up an invisible line on the wall, he traced out the shape of the door. "Can't open it from here without my sonic screwdriver." Spinning around, he backed up until his back hit the wall opposite her. "Block your thoughts. It probably won't work, but it might provide a bit of a barrier to--"

"Telepathy for Dummies in 5 minutes, Doctor? Not gonna work."

"No," he agreed, gaze sliding away again, dropping to her breasts for a split second, barely long enough for her to be sure she'd even seen them there.

Probably not.

The Doctor didn't care about that sort of thing. Didn't care about sex. It seemed to be an alien concept to him. He was an alien though, so maybe it wasn't so much an alien concept to him as... it just didn't really matter. They were trapped in a cell on some alien planet, with alien customs, and alien solutions that weren't going to help their relationship in any way that was good.

Her thoughts were her own, and she didn't want to share them.

Though she was a bit curious about his. Curious to figure out what she really meant to him. What he really wanted from her. A best mate? A companion? What were they now that she'd told him she loved him and fought her way back to his side? She'd left her mum and Tony and Pete behind in another universe for him.

He'd left a twin, clone, brother... whatever the other him was, this him had left that man behind. Donna as well.

All they had was each other now and that was enough. It was fine. She enjoyed being with him, enjoyed running from adventure to adventure. Loved this life, loved the uncertainty of it. Loved him. But he didn't seem to return the feelings. He'd never said it, after all. Never said those three words in return.

She hadn't told him what'd happened. Hadn't shared that moment she'd had with the other him with anyone. No one knew that he'd sought her out on the TARDIS after everyone else was gone--all but him and Donna--and told her things. Things she was sure this him didn't want to share. Wouldn't share, not willingly anyway. They were supposed to be the same man; same thoughts, same memories, same feelings, same everything.

But this Doctor had never told her he loved her. Never kissed her like the other him had. Never--

Pressing her fingers to her temples, she rubbed lightly, trying to push the memories away. Probably not the best thing to be thinking about just now. Glancing up, she found him watching her, brow furrowed, mouth pressed into a tight line.

Had he heard her thoughts? Did he know?

Panic shot through her and she pushed harder into the wall, further away from him, as if that tiny, minute shift in proximity might keep her thoughts in her own head. "Doctor?"

"You've been keeping secrets." His brows rose sharply and all the tension left him as he casually leant back against the wall, folding his arms loosely over his chest. His bare arms, crossed over his bare chest, with his gaze on her.

And her practically starkers. It made something in her belly tingle. "A few." Was he guessing, or did he know? "Doesn't everyone?"

"They do indeed." Dropping his arms, he shoved his hands into his pockets, giving her an unobstructed view of his body. Well, the unclothed part of it anyway. She really wished they'd taken his trousers as well.

She knew the human him had all the right parts. And they felt... a smirk lifted her lips.

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor gasped, mouth dropping open. "You-- with him." He gestured at her, snapping his mouth shut. His eyes narrowed on her and she shifted restlessly.

She hadn't. Not really. Not for want of trying on his part though. He was a bit of a horndog actually. Bit like Jack. Grinning, she shrugged a shoulder, gazing past him, remembering, but trying not to, not wanting to share the memories with this Doctor, but not wanting to keep it to herself any longer either.

Rock, meet hard place.

"I didn't," she finally admitted, blinking the memories away. "He-- I... I didn't shag him."

"But you wanted to." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact, as if he already knew. As if he had even an inkling of how she felt about him and the other him. The whole situation. Everything.

Rubbing her head harder, she sighed, straightening her shoulders "So? Are you shocked? Seriously? Told you I loved you, and, though it was over six years ago for me, doesn't mean it went away."

"Doesn't mean it didn't." He sniffed sharply, and she rolled her eyes, watching him rock lightly on the balls of his feet.

He was acting like a hurt puppy. "What does it matter? You--" she gestured to him, biting her lip, trying to say, without saying the words, what she meant.

"I?"

Didn't he get it? Could he really be that blind, that obtuse? He was a brilliant man, a brilliant alien, but sometimes he reminded her of a naïve teenager. Holding her arms out from her body, letting him see whatever he wanted to see--if he wanted to see anything at all--she drew in a deep breath. "You don't want me. He did. Does. I wanted to, yeah. Only I couldn't, because he isn't you."

Eyes firmly on her face, not moving anywhere else, he nodded slowly, going uncomfortably silent.

She shut her eyes and dropped her arms to her sides, scoffing at herself. What had she expected? That he'd run to her and sweep her into his arms? He wasn't human and he didn't want her. Didn't want anything more than a companion to run with, a mate to jaw with, and a pal to keep him company.

Dropping to the floor, she crossed her feet at the ankle and brought her legs up to her chest. "Can you hear my thoughts? See my memories?" Her head was pounding, throbbing in time with her heartbeat. "That how you knew?"

He shook his head. "The ceremony of Tahl is a completely different ceremony. This is the ritual of Ta'ul."

Darting her eyes to his briefly, finding him staring at the floor between them, she rested her chin on her knees. "Oh. So, no thought sharing?" Had he only just guessed then? Maybe it was obvious, even to the clueless alien Doctor. She probably wore her heart on her sleeve and her desires on her face.

Closing her eyes, she listened to the quiet of their breathing, the silence of the room.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

A sudden, sharp pain shot through her forehead, permeating her entire head. She cried out, cradling her head in her hands. The pain faded after a few moments, and the darkness behind her eyes began to brighten, to turn into shapes and movement. Rubbing her eyes, she grunted at the brightness and then slowly opened her eyes again.

The Doctor hadn't moved; he was still leaning casually against the wall, hands in his pockets, watching her now instead of the floor.

"Are you sure it's a different ceremony? 'Cause, I think it's starting." Groaning, she pushed the heels of her hands to her temples. "My head hurts and I can see--" gasping, she saw the Doctor move, though he stayed exactly where he was. Saw him cross the room, bare feet padding on the cool tile, and yet, he was still lounging against the wall across from her. She saw him kneel before her, and saw him, hands in his pockets, observing her from his vantage point meters away.

"Didn't wanna shag him," the Doctor in front of her whispered, tilting her face up with a finger. "But will you let me make love to you?"

A rush of hope went through her, though she still didn't understand. His cool touch, impossible since he was still against the wall, slid from her chin to her cheek, then into her hair. "I don't--"

"We're in your mind, Rose. They gave me an enhancer to boost my telepathic abilities." Thumb sliding along her bottom lip, he tilted his head to the side, watching her closely before leaning down to lightly press his mouth to hers. "The ritual of Ta'ul is a telepathic... love-fest, I guess you could call it." He chuckled, breath bursting over her lips before capturing them in a fierce, demanding kiss.


End file.
